The futures were mixed to start the week, and all eyes have turned to first-quarter earnings reports, which will be arriving in a big way this week. All the major indexes closed lower on Friday, despite some big banks posting outstanding and, to some, surprising results. While the inflation data last week was positive, much of the decline in the headline consumer price index number was due to falling gasoline prices, which may very well be higher by the time of the next report. However, for now, earnings remain the biggest risk, with some strategists predicting that consensus earnings estimates could drop another 10% to 20%.

Treasury yields jumped higher on Friday, with yields up across all the maturities. The yield on the two-year paper jumped back over the 4% level, up 13 basis points to close at 4.10%. The benchmark 10-year note finished the day at 3.52%, so the inversion stayed in place for yet another week. Typically, lower money supply and the inversion portend a recession is likely on the way.

Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude both ended the day higher and finished the week up a very solid 2%. The International Energy Agency warned of the potential for a significant supply deficit later this year, and that supplied a tailwind to higher prices on Friday. Natural gas finished the day solidly higher at $2.11, up over 5%.

Gold took a breather Friday after prices crept back close to all-time highs last week. The bullion closed the day down over 1.75% to finish at $2,005. Bitcoin, which has been on fire this year, ended Friday modestly higher at $30,461.

24/7 Wall St. reviews dozens of analyst research reports each day of the week with a goal of finding fresh ideas for investors and traders alike. Some of these daily analyst calls cover stocks to buy. Other calls cover stocks to sell or avoid. Remember that no single analyst call should ever be used as a basis to buy or sell a stock. Consensus analyst target data is from Refinitiv.

These are the top analyst upgrades, downgrades and initiations seen on Monday, April 17, 2023.

Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $52 target price. The consensus target is $49.63, and Friday’s final trade was for $45.03 a share.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM): BMO Capital Markets resumed coverage with an Outperform rating and a $100 target. The consensus target is $100.81. The stock closed on Friday at $81.79.

Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU): Citing its Ernie AI chatbot, Zacks named the so-called Google of China as its Bull of the Day stock. Shares last closed at $128.75, and the consensus price target of $181.30 would be a 52-week high.

Beyond Meat Inc. (NASDAQ: BYND): BMO Capital Market resumed coverage with a Market Perform rating and a $16 target price. The consensus target is $12.42. The stock closed on Friday at $14.82.
Bunge Ltd. (NYSE: BG): BMO Capital Markets resumed coverage on the stock with an Outperform rating and a $120 target price. The consensus target is up at $127.90 The stock closed on Friday at $94.40.

Casey’s General Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: CASY): Northcoast upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral, and it raised its $247 target price objective to $270. The consensus target is $264.82. The stock ended Friday trading at $226.45.

e.l.f. Beauty Inc. (NYSE: ELF): Truist Financial reiterated its Buy rating and boosted its $75 target price to $100. The consensus target is $77.40. Friday’s $90.14 close was up over 3% for the day on the positive commentary.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE): Goldman Sachs raised its $96 price target to $110. That compares with the consensus target of $100.89 and Friday’s closing print of $95.44.

Hecla Mining Co. (NYSE: HL): Roth MKM downgraded the shares to Neutral from Buy, and its target price increased to $6.25 from $5.50. The consensus target is $6.53. Friday’s close was at $6.61.

Hello Group Inc. (NASDAQ: MOMO): J.P. Morgan raised its Neutral rating to Overweight and its $5 target price all the way to $13. The consensus target is $10.72. The stock closed over 5% higher on Friday at $8.77 after the upgrade.

Kraft Heinz Co. (NASDAQ: KHC): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $44 target price. The consensus target is $42.61. Friday’s closing share price was $39.10.

LiveNova PLC (NASDAQ: LIVN): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and a $48 target price. The consensus target is $66.17, but the stock closed on Friday at $42.59.

Lowe’s Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW): Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating. Its $250 target price compares with the $228.83 consensus target and Friday’s close at $202.18.

Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS): When Barclays upgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Underweight, it bumped its $52 target price to $54. The consensus target is $53.82, and the stock closed on Friday at $46.99.

Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM): Stifel resumed coverage with a Buy rating and a $114 target price. The consensus target is $113.38. The last trade on Friday came in at $99.48.
Post Holdings Inc. (NYSE: POST): Stifel resumed its coverage with a Buy rating and a $106 target price. The consensus target is $104.00, and the shares ended Friday’s session at $86.96.

ResMed Inc. (NYSE: RMD): Mizuho initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $255 target price. The consensus target is $255.78. The final trade Friday hit the tape at $224.56.

Rivian Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: RIVN): Piper Sandler’s downgraded to Neutral from Overweight included a price target slash to $15 from $63. The consensus target is $27.60. The stock closed 7% lower on Friday at $13.38 after the downgrade.

Shift4 Payments Inc. (NYSE: FOUR): Stephens started coverage with an Equal Weight rating. Its $80  target price tops the $78.64 consensus target. Friday’s close at $70.23 was down close to 4% for the day.

SLM Corp. (NASDAQ: SLM): Compass Point upgraded the stock from Neutral to Buy with an $18 target price. The consensus target is $17.08. The shares closed on Friday at $14.32, which was up over 4% on the day.

Steris PLC (NYSE: STE): When Piper Sandler cut its Overweight rating to Neutral, its price target dropped to $197 from $215. The consensus target is $220. Friday’s $186.53 was down over 4% for the day on the downgrade.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ: RUN): Capital One resumed coverage with a Buy rating, but its $32 target price is less than the $39.14 consensus target. The stock closed at $19.44 on Friday.

Toast Inc. (NASDAQ: TOST): Stephens initiated coverage with an Equal Weight rating and an $18 target price. The consensus target is $22.74. Friday’s close was at $17.57.

V.F. Corp. (NYSE: VFC): As Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to Buy from Sell, it nudged its $26 target price to $27. The consensus target is $28.85. The stock closed 3% higher on Friday at $22.48 after the upgrade.

Vishay Precision Group Inc. (NYSE: VPG): B. Riley Securities started coverage with a Buy rating and a $54 target price. The consensus target is $52.33. The stock closed on Friday at $40.96.

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The Wall Street axiom about buying when there is blood in the streets may be in play here after some big money center banks posted strong numbers on Friday. Six mega-bank stocks with dependable dividends look poised for a strong bounce higher.

Friday’s top analyst upgrades and downgrades included American Airlines, Broadcom, Chevron, DraftKings, Enphase Energy, EOG Resources, Exxon Mobil, First Solar, Hertz Global, LyondellBasell Industries, McDonald’s, Merck, Meta Platforms, Shopify and SunPower.

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